The Chief Executive Officer of the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), Nestor Alfred, has asserted that the hallmark of the programme is the due diligence process, reported St Lucia Times.
Mr. Alfred told reporters that he wanted to make it very clear that if Saint Lucia wants the programme to be successful and attract the right investors, there is only one way to do it.
‘It is by ensuring that we vet those people. Our vetting process may be one of the most rigorous processes that you can find in this region,’ he declared.
Saint Lucia may be considered as one of the least competitive jurisdictions. ‘Guess why? Because we are not prepared to issue citizenship to people within thirty days and forty days. We are not prepared to do this,’ – Nestor said.
According to CIP Saint Lucia, The Citizenship Unit has signed with four due diligence firms to vet applicants.
The Official Launch of the Citizenship by Investment Programme in Saint Lucia on 29thDecember 2015, provided the Chairman of the Citizenship by Investment Board with the opportunity to make the announcement that three international due diligence firms had been engaged to perform due diligence background checks on applicants for citizenship.
One of the main concerns with the Programme has been that non desirable people would be granted citizenship of Saint Lucia. There have been numerous calls to ensure that there is proper due diligence done on applicants.
The Citizenship by Investment Regulations mandate that a due diligence background check is done on every applicant over the age of sixteen. Three of the biggest firms which specialize in conducting due diligence background checks have been contracted for the Saint Lucia programme. Thomson Reuters has an extensive network of research analysts who are strategically located around the world and speak over 60 local languages. Their Enhance Due Diligence Reports provide a detailed background check on any entity or individual, no matter where they are located in the world. BDO Consulting uses multidisciplinary project teams to leverage BDO’s global network and technological resources to provide reports uniquely tailored to each client’s individual risk profile and preferences. IPSA International has subject matter experts, investigators and researchers from a wide range of backgrounds and experience such as law enforcement, risk audits, journalists, detectives, fraud examiners and regulators.
In addition to contracting these three stellar firms to conduct its due diligence background checks, the Citizenship by Investment Programme has engaged the services of Wealth X specifically for cases where enhanced financial due diligence is required. For more information on Saint Lucia’s Citizenship by Investment Programme visit cipsaintlucia.com
In March 2018, Saint Lucia revoked citizenship of 6 individuals for bringing disrepute to the country. According to Government notice on clarification on CIP
Citizenship by Investment, once granted, may be revoked subject only to the provisions of section 38 (1) of the Citizenship by Investment Act No.14 of 2015, on the following grounds: “Such registration as a citizen was obtained by false representation or fraud or willful concealment of material facts; or the person has been convicted of an offence; or the person has performed any other act which, within the opinion of the Minister, has the potential to bring disrepute to Saint Lucia.”
